The Workers’ Party has condemned the US air raid at Baghdad airport which killed Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s elite Quds force and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, the Deputy Commander of Iran backed militias, the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF).

The Pentagon confirmed via a two page statement that the order came “at the direction of the President.”

Workers’ Party representative Éilis Ryan said: 

“The Assassination of Soleimani is incredibly serious and a dangerous escalation of conflict in the Middle East. The region has already been on edge since the US attack on PMF forces near Iraq’s border with Syria and the protests at the US Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday. 

“The justification for the strike was that Soleimani was planning attacks on Americans in the region. But in reality, like all US invasions, this is nothing more than an illegal provocation.” 

Ryan continued:   

“The Workers’ Party calls on the Irish government to ensure that they are no longer complicit in the conflict. US warplanes must be stopped from landing in Shannon Airport as a matter of urgency. 

“The Party further calls on the US to cease its aggressive imperialist actions worldwide including in Iran, and for the European Union and its member states to make clear they will play no part in this renewed aggression.”

She concluded:  

“All countries in the region must attempt to do everything they can to avoid the intensifying conflict which will serve no other purpose than to increase tensions and bring more death and despair to the region.”